Ronaldo's Portugal walkout echoes the Manchester United fallout that ended his Old Trafford career

Cristiano Ronaldo has walked away from the Portugal national squad after being left on the bench during a 2-1 victory over Norway, with his teammates responding by beating Denmark 4-2 in Copenhagen without him — a sequence that draws uncomfortable parallels with his final months at Manchester United.

The 41-year-old, who has scored 146 goals in 236 international appearances, took to Instagram after the Norway match to announce his departure, writing: “In time, I will tell all the Portuguese the truth about the reasons that motivated me to leave the national team, to which I always devoted myself. Now is the time to wish Portugal and all my teammates good luck, without exception.”

The cryptic statement carries echoes of the explosive Piers Morgan interview Ronaldo gave in November 2022, timed to coincide with a Premier League break during the World Cup. In that interview, Ronaldo said of then-United manager Erik ten Hag: “I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me.” He also claimed he felt “betrayed” and that certain people at the club had not wanted him there for two seasons. The interview reportedly upset his United teammates, and the club terminated his contract shortly afterwards.

The circumstances surrounding his Portugal exit follow a similar arc. New national team manager Jorge Jesus, who previously worked alongside Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, opted to use the forward sparingly rather than restore him to a central role. AC Milan striker Goncalo Ramos was the match-winner against Norway, and both Ramos and Joao Felix scored in the subsequent win over Denmark — results that suggest Portugal’s younger forwards have stepped decisively out of Ronaldo’s shadow.

At United, the club’s over-reliance on Ronaldo had been a recurring debate before he became a peripheral figure under Ten Hag. Once he left, United went on to win the Carabao Cup in February 2023 and finished third in the Premier League. The move to Al-Nassr, meanwhile, allowed Ronaldo to extend his career away from the physical demands of English football.

The pattern is difficult to ignore: a manager declines to guarantee Ronaldo a starting role, Ronaldo publicly signals his discontent, and the team demonstrates it can function — and in Portugal’s case, thrive — without him. Whether Ronaldo returns to the squad or makes his departure permanent, Portugal’s back-to-back wins in his absence have already shaped the narrative.